WASHINGTON - U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback today hosted a Capitol Hill news conference releasing a position paper on embryonic stem cell research.

"The research being proposed by NIH on human embryonic stem cells is immoral, illegal and unnecessary," Brownback said.

"Several years ago, Congress passed a ban on federal research which destroys, or relied upon the destruction of an embryo. The purpose of the ban was to make it clear to federal researchers that we were not willing to use tax dollars to fund the destruction of human embryos.

"Today, there is some confusion over the simple language of the ban. The ban states, 'None of the funds made available in this Act may be used for - 1) The creation of a human embryo or embryos for research purposes; or 2) Research in which a human embryo or embryos are destroyed, discarded, or knowingly subjected to risk of injury or death'*.

"This language is clear - the law is clear.

"There are better, more promising avenues to follow in order to continue our fight against some of the diseases with which we are battling. Our panel today will discuss the research that is being proposed, why it is illegal and immoral, and why some of the alternatives are more promising," Brownback said.

Participants at the news conference included Sen. Brownback; Dr. Nigel Cameron of the Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity; Dr. Frank Young, former Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration; Dr. Edmund Pellegrino, Director for the Center of Clinical Bioethics at Georgetown; and Richard Doerflinger of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops.

*[greater than that allowed for research on fetuses in utero under 45 CFR 46.208(a)(2) and section 498 (b) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 289g (b)).]